New exploration licensing round announced
Minister of State for Natural Resources Conor Lenihan today announced details of a new licensing round for exploration opportunities in Irish waters.
The 2011 Atlantic Margin Licensing Round is an invitation for oil and gas exploration companies to apply for new authorisations in Ireland’s Atlantic Margin, and is designed to boost the level of exploration activity off the Irish coast.
This round will be the largest licensing round to date, covering an area of just over a quarter of a million square kilometres. The area on offer extends from about 30-380 km from shore with water depths typically ranging from 200m or less to over 3,000m.
It opens up Ireland’s entire Atlantic – the Atlantic Margin - seabed for exploration (apart from existing licensed areas) rather than specific basins (or blocks) as had been the case with previous licensing rounds.
"I believe it is time for Ireland to take a new approach to attracting exploration investment to the Atlantic margin," Minister Lenihan said, adding that the new initiative should be of real interest to the industry at large, contractors included.
The round will close on May 31, 2011.
The Minister also announced details of a new joint Ireland/Newfoundland-Labrador research project involving a plate reconstruction of the North Atlantic.
This two-year research project, corroboration involving a range of Irish and Newfoundland-Labrador research institutes and private enterprise, will use computer modelling software to generate plate reconstruction models showing Irish and Canadian sedimentary basins in their original positions from millions of years ago when Ireland and Canada were near neighbours.
"By doing this we can identify areas in Ireland with similar geology that might be rich in petroleum too," Minister Lenihan said.
